CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Nine Black women say they were kicked out of Cork & Bull Chophouse in Chesapeake earlier this month after two other Black women they didn't know got into a fight at the restaurant. The women say they were discriminated against based on their race.
Shakoya Somerville-Holt says that incident happened when she and eight friends were having a Friendsgiving dinner at the restaurant on Nov. 6. Shortly after, she says two other Black women at a nearby table got into a fight. Despite not knowing the women involved in the altercation, Somerville-Holt said restaurant management told her group they had to leave.
"The management came over to our table and told us that they will not be servicing us tonight, that we had to leave," Somerville-Holt said. "I questioned, are you shutting the entire restaurant down for tonight? No, we're just not serving you all, because 'y'all like to fight.'"
Somerville-Holt described her and her friend's feelings after the incident as "pain, hurt, embarrassment, confusion, and humiliation."
The day after the incident, Somerville-Holt posted a video of the incident to Facebook and shared her side of what happened. Her post gained a lot of traction in the community, even sparking protests from community members who say they stand with the nine women.
Pat Thompson, a Chesapeake neighbor, was protesting with a sign outside the restaurant on Friday. He tells News 3 he was very upset when he heard about the situation.
"Awareness, that's why I'm here, awareness... This is what 'likes to fight,' really looks like, and I did see those nine women. I didn't think they looked like they liked to fight," Thompson said. "I, kind of, I think I look like I like to fight a little bit more than them. And I've never been asked to leave."
Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Virginia State Conference, said the organization would like to see an apology from the restaurant.
"This is cultural racism, race racism, gender racism, at its worst...Based upon what we would like to see, as the NAACP, is an apology, and an admission that this was not the policy, hopefully it wasn't, of the restaurant," Rev. Bailey said.
The group of nine women have hired an attorney and say they are considering legal action against the restaurant.
Rev. Bailey said the NAACP Virginia State Conference may establish a collaboration with the women's attorney.
Chesapeake Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly reached out to the owners of Cork & Bull Chophouse several times but they have not responded.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
